Things to Look out for when Analyzing Advertisements in a Paper 1
Product and Producer
- What is the product?
- Who is the producer?
- Where is the product generally used?
- Who is the product used by?
- Which cultures or countries is the product often used in?
Context
- What is the context of the advertisement?
- What kind of time and cultural context is it in?
- Does it reflect norms of the time or does it go against them?
Audience
- Which audience is the advertisement trying to appeal to?
- Often aligns with the general audience of the product.
Visuals
- What are the visual aspects?
Examples
Saturation, contrast, framing, shape usage, colors and their associations, focal points, composition, angles, poses
Text
- What kind of text does the advertisement have?
- What authorial choices are used in the text?
- Also focus on the style of the text, such as color and font.
Emotions
- What kind of emotions does the advertisement try to elicit?
- How do aspects of the advertisement evoke these emotions?
Values
- What kind of values does the advertisement convey?
- Are they progressive values or oppressive ones that promote immoral behavior?
Subtexts
- What is the underlying message in the advertisement?
- The implied meaning is usually based on authorial choices and the context of the advertisement.